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April 7, 1931. c. F. LEE 7 1,799,563

MEANS FCR PRODUCTNG COMBINED WOVEN AND KNITTED FABRICS Filed March 19, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 gmaf A llorney April 7, 1931. c. F. LEE 1,799,563

MEANS FCR PRODUCING COMBINED WOVEN AND KNITTED FABRICS Filed March 19, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor [ZarZas JFfee w A Horney April 7, 1931. c. F. LEE 1,799,563

MEANS FOR PRODUCING COMBINED WOVEN AND KNITTED mamas Filed March 19, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 A llorney c. F. LEE 1,799,563

MEANS FCR PRODUCING COMBINED WOVEN AND KNITTED FABRICS April 7, 1931.

Filed March 19, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Invenlor Allorncy Patented Apr. 7, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES 1?. LEE, PHILADELPHIA, IPENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WARREN 1. GRIFFITHS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA S FOR PRODUCING COMBINED WOVEN AND KNITTED FABRICS Application filed March 19, 1930. Serial No. 437,095.

' adapted to produce a fabric having a knitted face side while the other side of said fabric is woven. v

An important object of this invention is to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, a device of the aforementioned character which is adapted to produce a piece of fabric or cloth having one side knitted and the opposite side woven either in various designs or plain as desired, and wherein this is accomplished without the necessity of using any additional material other than that which is required for producing a piece of fabric or cloth wherein both sides are woven.

Another very important object of the invention is to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, means for producing a com bined woven and knitted fabric which is adapted to be expeditiously mounted on or removed from looms of conventional construction which are already in use without the necessity of materially altering the said loom and whereby said loom may be used to produce a fabric which is woven on both sides in the usual manner when the device constituting this invention is removedtherefrom.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a means for producing a combined woven and knitted fabric wherein the fabric or cloth produced thereby will not stretch or pull out of its woven shape and the invention aims still further to provide a device of this character which is adapted to operate on any kind of fabric or cloth.

A still further important object of the invention is to provide a device of the character set forth which is adapted to knit certain of the weft threads which are left by a shuttle of a loom to which the invention is operatively attached. Still further objects of the invention are to provide in a manner as hereinafter set forth, means for producing a combined woven and knitted fabric of the character described which will be simple in construction, strong,

durable, eficient in its use and which may be manufactured at low cost.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of the invention may become apparent from a study of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein Figure 1 is a view in front elevation showing a portion of a conventional loom with the device constituting this invention mounted in operative position thereon.

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is a view in elevation looking at one end of a portion of a loom with the device mounted thereon from the end illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is adetail view in section show- Figure 7 is'an enlarged fragmentary detail view in longitudinal section taken through the bed plate in which the knitting needles are mounted. a

Figure 8 is a fragmentary detail view in top plan showing one end portion of the needle supporting bed plate.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary detail view in perspective showing the cam engaging end portion of the bed plate rocking arm.

Figure 10 is a pers ective view illustrating certain eements orming a part of the invention which are engaged with the opposite ends of the bed plate.

Figure 11 is an enlarged plan view of a piece of fabric or cloth which the device plonstituting this invention is adapted to prouce.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and to Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, in particular, it

. from the opposite ends of the brackets 4 and will.,be seen that the reference numeral 1 deslgnates the frame of a conventional loom and t e lay 3 also mounted thereon for swinging movement in a vertical plane in the usual manner.

Rigidly mounted on the upper side of the beam 2 adjacent the opposite end thereof and extending transversely thereon is a pair of tubular brackets 4 having slidably mounted therein the horizontally disposed elongated bars 5 which are circular in cross section and the opposite ends of which project outwardly best illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings. The inner ends of the arms or rods 5 have formed integrally thereon the transversely disposed bearing eyes or sleeves 6 for rotatably receiving the pintles 7 which project longitudinally from the opposite ends of an elongated knitted needle supporting bed plate 8 WhlCll is best mounted for oscillatory move: ment on the rods 5. i

a The upper side of the bed plate 8 is provided with a series of spaced parallel, transversely'extending grooves 01' channels 9 the depth of which is progressively increased from the inner edge of said bed plate to the outer edge thereof, as illustrated to advantage in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings. Disposed on the bed plate 8-within the channels 9 thereof are the knitting needles 10 having the intermediate vertically ofi'set portions 11 which are adapted to fulcrum on the inner edge of the bed plate 8, the outer end portion of the needles being adapted forvertical swinging movement in the channels 9. The inner end of each knitting needle 10 is provided with the hook 12 which is closed fi by a pivoted latch 13. The outer end of each of the knitting needles 10 is formed to provide an upstanding integral yoke 14. A cover late 15 is mounted across the upper side 0 the bed plate 8 in, a manner to retain the knitting needles 10 in position in the channels'9. As clearly seen in Figure 5 of the drawings, the upper end portions of the yokes 14 are a'dapted to be projected above the horizontal plane of the cover plate 15.

Rigidly connected to the bed plate 8 adjacent one end thereof and extending outwardly therefrom is an arm 16 which, as seen in Figure 9, has a roller 17 journaled on one side of its free end portion adapted to travel in a cam groove 18 formed in one side of a block 19 which is mounted onthe upper side of the plate 2 adjacent one of the brackets 4.

Referring again to Figure 2 of the drawings, it will be seen that a pair of oppositely extending levers 19 having the beveled outer V longitudinal edges 20 are hingedly mounted,

as at 21, on the upper side ofthe cover plate 15 and said levers are adapted for swinging movement in a horizontal plane transversely and slidably on said cover plate 15. The

pintles 7 of thebed plate 8 project outwardly eyond the bearing sleeves or eyes 6 on the rods 5 and mounted on the projecting free I end portions of said pintles are the double ended levers 22 which are adapted for oscillatory movement on the pintles and provided with a longitudinally extending ,slot 23 in their upper ends for operatively-connecting said levers 22 to the levers 19' through the medium of the pins 24 which project from the outer ends of said levers 19'. The lower end portions ofsthe levers 22 are provided with longitudinally extending slots 25 for slidably receiving a pin26 which projects from the free end portion of each of a pair of stationary brackets 27 which is mounted on the inner side of the beam 2 of the loom.

A pair of brackets 28 is mounted on the horizontally disposed elongated shaft 29 havin theup'standing arms 30 fixed thereon provided with the longitudinally extending slots 31 in their free end portions for slidably receiving the pins 32 which project later-v ally from the outer end portions of the rods 5 in a manner to operatively connect said arms 30 to said rods 5. A depending arm 33 is fixed on one end portion of the shaft 29 and a rod 34 operatively connects said arm 33 with the upper end portion'of a lever 35 which is pivotally mounted at an intermediate portion thereof as at 36'to the bar 37 which constitutes a part of the frame 1 of the loom. The lower end of the lever 35 is engaged with a cam 38- which, in turn, is xed on one end portion of a power shaft 39 which is journaled for rotation in the frame 1 in the usual manner. As will be apparent,

the lever 35 is actuated by the cam 38. Any suitable means may be provided for maintaining the lever 35 constantly in engagement against the cam 38. It is further understood, of course, that the power shaft 39 is operativelyconnected to the driving mechanism of the loom for actuation thereby in the usual manner. 7

Cam wheels 40 having cam grooves 41 formed therein are fixed in longitudinally spaced relation Ora-intermediate portions'of the power shaft 39 for'o'perative engagement with the levers 42 which are mounted for swinging movement, as at 43 on the loom frame 1 and said levers 42 are operatively lln connected with the lay 3 through the medium of the links 44.

As will be seen in Figure 11 of the drawings, the reference numeral 45 designates the warp threads of a piece of fabric or cloth which has been produced by this device, the

' numeral 46 designates the weft threads which have been knittedand 47 designates the weft threads which are left unknitted.

reason of this arrangement, the needles 10.

In operation, the bed plate 8 with the needles 10 mounted in position thereon is moved in and out in a horizontal plane on the supporting rods 5 through the medium of the arms 30, the shaft 29, the depending arm 33, the connecting rod 34, and the lever which is actuated by the cam 38 fixed on the power shaft 39. The cam 38 is of a configuration to move the needles 10 inwardly and then outwardly only after every other or every second passage of the loom shuttle (not shown) through the shed. By

engage every second weft thread which is left by the shuttle as will be understood.

As the bed plate 8 moves inwardly and as the needles 10 approach the weft thread which has just been left by the shuttle, the arm 16 is swung upwardly by the cam groove 18 1n a manner to rock the bed plate and cause the inner end of the needles to swing downwardly and dive beneath the weft thread. It is understood that the latch 13 is in open position when the needles 10 are at this point of their travel, as indicated in Figure 5 of the drawings. When the needles 10 have passed beneath the weft threads, the roller 17 on the arm '16 will have reachedthe innermost portion of the cam groove 18 and said arms are allowed to swing downwardly 1n a manner to shift the bed plate and raise the hooked end portions 12 of the needles into engagement with the weft threads and the bed plate with. the needles thereonthen starts its return movement.

The needles with the weft threads carried thereby then move back to the beat-up point and the lay 3 then comes forward to the beat-up .point and returns to its inoperative position. The second weft thread is then left the shuttle returning to its startingpoint and this thread is not knitted by the needles but is carried to the beat-up point by the lay 3 in the usual manner and binds a preceding weft thread which has been knitted in the cloth or fabric. As the needles move to the beat-up point the same are swung downwardly by the arm 16 moving upwardly in the cam groove 18 and said needles will be at their lowermost point when they reach the beat-up point. The needles are then raised by the arm 16 in a manner to form the loops 48 in the weft threads 46, (see Figure 11) and said weft threads are released'from the needles, and the loops are closed by the next knitting operation.

As before stated, the weft thread as thrown by the shuttle, is not knitted on every throw but is knitted on every other throw, one weft thread being left unknitted and used to bind the knitted thread in the warp.

In order that the weft thread will be the same distance from the beat-up point at both sides of the loom at the same time that the needles come forward to catch the threads,

I and knitted fabric comprising it is necessary that the lay 3 move forward in a manner to even the threads and this movement is accomplished by reason of the configuration of the cam grooves 41 in the cam wheels 40 which are designed to move the lay forward just far enough to even the weft threads across the loom with every other throw of the shuttle and after which the lay returns to its inoperative position.- This partial movement of the lay takes place only during a knitting operation and. after the shuttle has left a thread which is to be knitted. o

In order that there will be no slack in the I I outwardly, are swung outwardly on the pivotal connection 21 through the medium of the double ended levers 22 which are rocked on the pintle 7 through the medium of the stationary brackets 27 and the pins26 which project therefrom. As the needles move inwardly toward the beat-up point the levers 19f engage the yoke portion 14-. of said needles successively from the innermost of said needles toward the outermost thereof and this operation causes the needles to, fulcrum on the bed plate 8 in a manner to swing the hooked end portion thereof upwardly and draw the weft thread therein taut. It will thus be seen that this movement begins at the center of the bed plate and works toward .the'opposite ends thereof at the same time.

It is believed that the many advantages of a means for producing a combined woven within the scope of the invention as claimed.

. What is claimed is 1. Means for'producing a combined woven a pair of rods slidably mounted ona support, a bed plate pivotally mounted for oscillatory movement between the rods, a plurality of needles fulcrumed for swinging movement in a vertical plane on the bed plate, means for sliding the rods in a horizontal plane, means for oscillating the bed plate on the rods, said rods and bed plate actuating means adapted to engage the needles with weft threads which have been left by the loom shuttle and being further adapted to actuate said needles in a manner to knit the weft threads and-means for shiftin the needles in a vertical plane on the be plate in a manner to remove slack from the weft threads when the same is en gaged by the needles.

atively connecting ,thebedplate to the camin a manner to oscillate said bed plate on the rods upon shifting movement of said rods and the bed plate in a horizontal plane, said needles engageable with weft threads left by the loom shuttle and adapted to form the same into knitting and means mounted on the bed plate for swinging the needles in a vertical plane thereon in a manner to ti hten the weft threads which are engaged wit the needles prior to the knitting of said weft threads. 3. .In a loom having shedding mechanism and weft inserting mechanism, the combination with said mechanisms of meansfor roducing a combined woven and knitted fa ric comprising. a supporting structure and a nee-. dle mounted for c mpound movement on the supporting struct re, said needle being operatively engageable with weft threads left the weft nserting mechanism for knitting said weft threads.-

4. In a loom having shedding mechanism and weft inserting mechanism, the combination with said mechanisms of means for roducing a combined woven and knitted f ric com rising a supporting structure mountedon t e loom, needles mounted for compound movement on the supporting structure, said needles being. operatively enga able with certain of the weft threads left y the weft inserting mechanism for knitting said weft threads, and means for actuating the needles. '5. In a loom having shedding mechanism and weft inserting mechanism, the combination with said mechanisms of means for roducing a combined woven and knitted fa ric com rising a supporting structure mounted on t e loom, needles mounted for compound movement on-the supporting structure, said needles being, operatively en a cable with certain of theweftthreads let y the weft inserting mechanism. for knitting said certain weft threads, and means operatively connecting the needles to the loom for actuation thereby.

6. In a loom having shedding mechanism and weft inserting mechanism, the combination jvith said mechanisms of means for pro- 7 ducing a combined woven and knittedfabric comprising a supporting structure mounted on the breast beam of the loom, needles I nected to the member for actuation thereby mounted for simultaneous horizontal movemeatiea ment and verticalswinging movement on the supporting structure, said needles being operatively engageable with certain of the weft threads left by the weft insertingmechanism for knitting said certain weft threads, and? and weft. inserting mechanism the combina-- tlon-with said mechan sms of means for producing a combined woven and knitted fabric comprising a supporting structure and a needle mounted for compound movement on the supporting structure, said needle being operatively engageable with weft threads left by the weft inserting mechanism for knitting said weft threads, and means for rocking the needle in a manner to remove slack from the weftthread which is engaged by said needle.

8. In a loom having shedding mechanism and weft inserting mechanism, the combination with said mechanisms of means for producing a combined woven and knitted fabric comprising a supporting structure, needle supporting means mounted for simultaneous sliding and rocking movement on the supporting structure, needles mounted on t second "named means, and means for actuy "and weft inserting mechanism, the combination with said mechanisms of means for producing a combined woven and knitted fabric comprising a needle supporting member mounted for simultaneous sliding and rocking movement on a supporting structure, needles swingably mounted on the member, said needles being operatively engageable with weft threads left by the weft inserting mechanism for knitting said weft threads, means for actuating the member, and means for rockingthe needles on the member in a manner to remove slack from the weft thread which is engaged by the needles.

10. In a loom having shedding mechanism and weft inserting mechanism, the combination with said mechanisms of means for producing a combined woven and knitted fabric and with the first named lever for operating same.

11. Means for produgi n acombine'd woven, and knitted fabric on a m having shedding mechanism and weft inserting mechanism, comprising in combination with said mechanisms, a supporting structure, needles shiftably mounted on the sup orting structure and operatively engagea 1e with weft threads left by the weft inserting mechanism for knittin said weft threads, and means for actuating t e needles. 12. In a loomthaving shedding mechanism and weft inserting mechanism, the combination with said mechanisms of means for roducing a combined woven and knitted fa ric comprising a supporting structure and a latch needle mounted for compound movement on'the supporting structure,said needle J being operatively engageablewith weft,

threads left by the weft inserting mechanism for knitting said weft threads.

In testimony whereof I aflix my si ature.

/ CHARLES F. EE. 

